When one sits in meditation, mind wanders here and there and
never stays on one object. Consequently one cannot get the
desired concentration. This situation is due to the
following facts:

When a child is born it brings along with it all the
impressions of it's previous births both in character and
action. It also brings along the ingrained good and bad
Karmas. From the time of birth till it is able to talk, the
child is considered to be innocent. Slowly the parents
inculcate into the mind of the child what is good and what
is bad as per their customs.

Not only that the social circumstances in which the
parents and the child live also make it understand and
modify its mind as need requires. This creates additional
impressions in the mind. By the time the child becomes
adolescent, slowly desires and ambitions come into the
picture which force the mind to adopt new attitudes. It is
further contaminated when the child matures sexually and
furthermore, as sexual desires dominate the adolescent
person.

Attraction to the opposite sex comes automatically and
this results in various actions from the youth, steps which
may or may not be good. Disappointments start from the time
the child goes to school and builds up gradually in the mind
with impressions. Sorrow begins to show and this causes
bodily afflictions, if not immediately but at a later stage.

Then comes employment and the strains that accompany
employment. Marriage and having children increases
responsibilities. By the time, this child has is grown up as
a full youth, his parents become too old and have to be
looked after which is an additional burden with accompanied
strains.

To satisfy everybody, the child now has to do many things
which normally the child is not supposed to do. But his
Karmas will make him to suffer as he is destined. Some may
find less sorrow due to their good Karma but majority suffer
due to bad Karma. Thus, in life, one finds many ups and
downs. One enjoys the pleasures and also suffers the pains.

Mind's natural tendency is to seek pleasure. It cannot
withstand disappointments of its desires and when one desire
is not fulfilled it feels sorrow resulting in pain. Thus,
gradually, a man finds himself burdened with many pains
which remain ingrained in the mind.

Along with this, all the actions and all the scenes, such
as what one has heard, one has seen, one has touched, one
has smelt and tasted also remain in the mind as impressions.
Some may remain permanently in the mind just like in a hard
disc in a computer. Others will remain as temporary files in
the computer and get automatically erased.

When a person sits for meditation, all these impressions
remaining in the mind start appearing before the person.
Those who teach meditation will say, "Remain detached and
watch all that comes before you." This is more easily said
than done. It will take years of practice to keep the ego
away from all these scenes and watch them dispassionately.
You cannot derive any benefit as long as you watch these
with attachment of ego. Only when watched with detachment do
these impressions unwind themselves.

It is for the purpose of training oneself to watch with
detachment, the preliminary steps are recommended. For
attaining this attitude there are various tricks in Yoga
which come from the Tantras.

Mantra recitation - whereby mind concentrates on sound

Vipasana - Concentrating on the breath as called by the
Buddhists

Trataka - Watching an object without blinking the eyes
where the mind concentrates on fire

Dancing - Mind concentrates on the body movements which
is actually earth

There are various other practices in addition to the above
four. But they are not necessary for the novice

Among Mantra recitation, the best is Soham. Initially,
recite orally with audible sound for some days - say about
one or two months. Thereafter, lip movement with sound being
audible only to the person who utters. This should be
practiced for two months. The next two months recitation
should be inside without lip or tongue movement. No sound
should be heard by anybody except the chanter who should
feel the sound.

Then comes the final stage of practice. SO to be
practiced with inhalation and HUM to be practiced with
exhalation. Some keep a MALA or garland of beads of Tulsi,
Rudraksha, Crystal, Sandalwood etc to keep the count. This
is a good practice and has definite benefits to the body and
mind. Initially, it will be difficult to combine the breath
and recitation but with a few days practice, one will become
proficient.

By the time one comes to the easy stage of practicing the
Soham mantra inside along with breath, mind becomes more
mature as we have made it compulsorily to concentrate on one
of its own activities.

Breath concentration is also an easy practice. Initially
there will be distractions. But gradually one will gain
confidence to concentrate. A few months of practicing breath
concentration will definitely be beneficial.

Trataka is to look on a specific object without blinking.
For the first few days, one may not be able to concentrate
for more than few minutes. You might experiencing watering
in your eyes. But persist in intervals and gradually
increase the time. This is a very good practice for
concentration. You may practice Trataka for a few months.

One can do any dancing, but it should not be accompanied
with lust. Those who are dancing in Hare Rama Hare Krishna
movement is an example dancing in lust. One can dance simply
at home as he likes without any tuition as one pleases.

It is enough to practice one of the above. But if all are
practiced simultaneously at intervals every day, quicker
results can be achieved. (To be continued.)

Yogacharya R Venkatachalam Iyer (mumukshuiyer)
was born in 1934 at Parur, Kerala, India. He started Yoga
at the age of 14 years. He received training in Suryanamaskara
from S.P Iyer of Bangalore, India and Yoga from Sundaram of
Bangalore, India. He received advance training at Sivanandashram,
Rishikesh and Bihar Institute of Yoga, Munger. He took Karma
Diksha from Brahmasri Niranjananda Saraswati Swami Maharaj

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